Advertising & Society Colloquium:
The Sustainability Imperative

Welcome

We are delighted to organize the eighth annual Advertising & Society Colloquium, focusing on the crucial themes of advertising, sustainability, climate change, and the environment. Co-sponsored by the Advertising Educational Foundation’s academic journal Advertising & Society Quarterly and the National Museum of American History, the event will take place at the Smithsonian in Washington, DC, on February 29 and March 1, 2024.

Our goal is to gather leading scholars in the field of advertising and society to explore opportunities for advancing research, scholarship, and education in this interdisciplinary domain. Additionally, industry leaders will participate in enriching discussions. The Colloquium is invitation only due to limited room size however proceedings will be published in the Summer 2024 issue of Advertising & Society Quarterly.

We are eager to host this engaging event and look forward to your valuable contributions. For questions, please contact Emma Hymas at emma.hymas@duke.edu.

 

Colloquium Hosts

Kathleen Franz, PhD, Editor, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution and American University
Ed Timke, PhD, Associate Editor, Michigan State University
Emma Hymas, Managing Editor, Duke University

 

Sponsors and Partners

RSVP for Invited Participants

If you received an invitation to attend this year’s colloquium and you need to review the information found on the RSVP form, please refer to your email confirmation or the form.

 

Schedule

Unless noted otherwise, events are held at the SC Johnson Center in the National Museum of American History (1300 Constitution Ave NW, Washington DC 20560).

Thursday, February 29th
3:00-4:00pm Optional Guided Visit to Cellphone: Unseen Connections at National Museum of Natural History (10th & Constitution Ave NW, Washington, DC 20560) by Joshua Bell. Participants will meet on the second floor outside the exhibit.

All participants need to go through security and have bags screened. The Natural History Museum has very limited baggage storage options.
4:30–6:00pm Happy Hour in the Museum Rooftop Staff Room (National Museum of American History)
Friday, March 1st
8:30–9:00am Coffee and Tea—participants should enjoy breakfast on their own.

All participants need to go through security and have bags screened. There will be dedicated space to store luggage.
9:00–9:30am Welcome and Colloquium Opening

Kathleen Franz (Smithsonian and American U), Gord McLean (AEF), Benjamin Filene (Smithsonian)
9:30–10:30am Contextualizing the Problems of Advertising and the Environment

Keynote Speaker: Leah Thomas (Intersectional Environmentalist)
Respondent: Lara Zwarun (University of Missouri, St. Louis)
10:30–10:45am Break
10:45-12:00pm Advertising for the Public Good: The Legacy of Smokey Bear

Panelists: Tracy Danicich (Ad Council), Todd Sussman (FCB), Jeffrey Stine (Smithsonian)
Moderator: Ed Timke (Michigan State)
12:00–1:00pm Lunch – participants have the option of visiting the Archives Center from 12:30–1:00pm
1:00–2:00pm Brave Work in the Age of Climate Change: The Advertising Industry and a Sustainable Future

Keynote Speaker: Deb Morrison (University of Oregon)
Respondent: Xinghua Li (Babson College)
2:00–2:15pm Break
2:15–3:45pm The ASQ Community’s Call to Action
Discussion Breakout Groups:

Teaching: Emily Contois (U Tulsa)
Academic-Industry Research Collaborations: Jason Chambers (U Illinois) and Judy Davis (Eastern Michigan) with Ed Timke (Michigan State)
3:45–4:00pm Closing Remarks, Adjournment, and Departure

 

Travel and Meals

The journal will provide light refreshments at the happy hour on Thursday, February 29th.
During the main Colloquium events on March 1st, the journal will provide coffee and tea as well as lunch.

Participants will need to make all other meal and travel arrangements on their own.

 

Recommended Materials for Review

To enrich our discussions, Colloquium participants are recommended to review the following materials before the meeting. If you’re a registered participant and don’t have access to the articles from Advertising & Society Quarterly, please contact Emma Hymas (emma.hymas@duke.edu).

  • Aronczyk, Melissa, Yumi Clevenger-Lee, Harsha Gangadharbatla, Xinghua Li, Lara Zwarun, and Edward Timke. “Roundtable on Sustainability and Advertising.” Advertising & Society Quarterly 23, no. 4 (2022) https://doi.org/10.1353/asr.2022.0031.
  • Gangadharbatla, Harsha, and Deborah Morrison. “A Playbook for Engaging in Social and Environmental Activism in Advertising.” Advertising & Society Quarterly 23, no. 1 (2022) https://doi.org/10.1353/asr.2022.0005.
  • Sheehan, Kim, and Deborah Morrison. “Advertising Leadership and Climate Change: The Efficacy of Industry Professionals to Address Climate Issues.” Advertising & Society Quarterly 19, no. 1 (2018) https://doi.org/10.1353/asr.2018.0009.
  • Stine, Jeffrey. Green Persuasion: Advertising, Voluntarism, and America’s Public Lands (Washington, DC: Smithsonian Scholarly Press, 2021). Available through open access.
  • Thomas, Leah. The Intersectional Environmentalist: How to Dismantle Systems of Oppression to Protect People + Planet. (New York: Voracious, 2022).

 

Washington, DC Travel Information

BWI Baltimore-Washington Airport
DCA National Airport
IAD Dulles Airport
Washington, DC Tourism
WMATA (Metro and bus)

 

Hotel Search Tool

While the journal is not arranging hotel accommodations, we have partnered with the Advertising Educational Foundation’s travel partner aRes Travel.* If you are planning on attending the conference and have not secured a hotel reservation, you can use aRes Travel’s hotel search tool. You can book online or call 1-800-559-3186 for assistance (international callers should use 1-619-546-5773).

Please note that you are not obligated to use this tool, but it offers a non-refundable selection of available, nearby hotels for your consideration.

*aRes Travel is a third-party travel planner. Rates, deposits, and cancellation policies may vary and are the responsibility of the guest. Questions on hotel policies or payments made on the aRes website should be directed to the aResReservation Center or to the hotel directly.

 

Inclement Weather Policy

Given that the Colloquium coincides with a time of potentially inclement weather in the Washington, DC area, please be aware that we will follow the federal government’s operational status guidance, which can be found here. As long as the federal government remains open, we anticipate holding the event as scheduled.

 

COVID-19 Policy

To ensure the safety of all participants, the Colloquium will adhere to the Smithsonian’s COVID-19 protocols and procedures, aligned with guidance from the CDC, federal government, and District of Columbia. An optional mask requirement is anticipated during the Colloquium. All participants must be fully vaccinated to attend.

 

Advertising & Society Colloquium:
The Sustainability Imperative

"Our future marketing and advertising leaders are not just looking for a job, they are looking for a meaningful career that will make a positive impact on society."
— Gord McLean, President and CEO at ANA Educational Foundation